The University of Iowa College of Dentistry is pleased to announce the 2021 Seed Grant Awards.
This is the second year of the seed grant program, and these grants fund innovative projects from early-career investigators or established investigators who are developing a new line of research. The goal of these grants is to encourage research and generate data that will enable the awardees to be competitive for peer-reviewed national funding agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health.
“This year we had ten outstanding applications,” explained Associate Dean for Research Jin Xie, “and with the support from these grants, each proposal will be highly competitive for external funding opportunities!”
Each 2021 Seed Grant proposal was reviewed and evaluated by the College of Dentistry Research Proposal Advisory Panel (RPAP), and award amounts for the ten proposals were based on the panel’s review and scoring of the proposals, the requested budget, and the available funds.
Based on these criteria, the 2021 Seed Grant Awards are:
Nanoengineered drug delivery device for dental applications- Dentin biomodification via functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles
Role of Pitx2 in transcriptional regulatory networks controlling tooth initiation
Autonomic Dysregulation in Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) with Comorbidity Triad – A Pilot Study
Improving Oral Hygiene for Adult Patients with Huntington’s Disease – A Pilot Study
Functional validation of genetic-epigenetic interactions in orofacial clefts
Injectable nanoclay gel-mediated small molecule release for the treatment of periodontitis-induced bone loss
Identifying MEMO1 interactors in a mouse model of amelogenesis imperfecta
The contribution of interferon lambda in the microbial composition associated with periodontitis and peri-implantitis
And the 2021 Project Development Support Awards are:
RNA-Seq coupled with laser microdissection for the investigation of the odontoblast gene expression profile in moderate and deep caries lesion.
Ultrasound-based imaging to Detect Early Changes of Hard and Soft tissue Around Immediate Placed implants
The project evaluations themselves were helpful for researchers as they refine their proposals for future grant submissions.
One researcher said, “The review committee’s feedback was very valuable and will help me improve the design of this study and be more thoughtful when writing future grant applications.”
Another said, “I have received the offer letter and really want to thank you and thank the college for your kind support for my research! This support is very critical for getting pilot data for future application of external funding.”
A third researcher said that the feedback they received was constructive, and the funds will provide the needed support for generating preliminary data for a future R01 from their team.
The Seed Grant Program and the college’s commitment to advancing research point show that the future is bright.
Associate Dean Xie expressed his and the college’s gratitude to the panel saying, “The College of Dentistry is so grateful to the RPAP for their time and effort to review all the proposals.”
Associate Dean Xie also expressed his appreciation for the vital support of the administrative team in the Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research: Ann Lawler, Chandler Pendleton, and Michael Tilley.